Alex processed the implications. "But no one had deployed weapons yet."
"Exactly," Catherine confirmed. "Whatever had happened in Aethros Valley, humanity hadn't caused it. The fog hadn't caused it. Something else had occurred during those two weeks... something that left destruction on a scale that made military planners deeply uncomfortable."
She paused, her expression darkening.
"The reconnaissance footage showed more. Trenches carved through solid rock in perfect mathematical spirals... not random destruction, but controlled, intentional force. Areas where ground had been flash-frozen and superheated simultaneously, creating impossible geological layering."
Her fingers traced patterns against his chest.
